Hello people of the world! Today we explored the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. Both museums were very interesting. We went to the Rijksmuseum first and I was very suprised at how big it was, it was huge! These museums keep getting bigger and bigger!!! The paintings were also very big which I think is crazy, how can someone paint something that it three times their size? Seems impossible to me, which makes it even more amazing when you see it completed and whole in person. We had a guide for a good part of the Rijksmuseum and I liked him as well, he knew a lot about the background stories of the paintings. We didnt go to every exhibit just the highlights, The Night Watch, The Milk Maid, and The Citrus series, and others by artists such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Kalf. After we saw The Night Watch we were free to explore the rest of the museum on our own. While a couple of friends and I were wandering around checking out some paintings one painting in particular caught our eyes. It was called The Massacre of the Innocents by Cornelis Cornelisz. It is a representation of the biblical account of the genocide committed by Herod the Great, the Roman appointed King of the Jews. According to bible in the book of Matthew, Herod orded his soldiers to execute all young male children that were in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to eliminate any threat to his crown. The scene int he painting depicts these naked soldiers killing young children and mothers who happen to get in the way, along with discolored gray looking bodies that have already been murdered. I think because the painting was so morbid and grotesque we were interested in it more than the others and even more so after one of our teachers explained the background story. So, I would have to say that this was one of the coolest paintings I saw today at the Rijksmuseum.

Our next stop was the Van Gogh museum which I thought was sad, intriguing, and very personal. We looked into the life of Van Gogh, where he lived, his numerous paintings, his love life, his family, and his mental state throughout his life. I am not usually one for expressionisim or artwork that isnt necessarily “realistic” but I very much liked his style of painting. My favorite painting by him would have to be the sunflowers one or the painting of the shepards hearding their sheep at dawn. Both peices were beautifully painted and just pleasing to the eye. I would like to go back one day and study his life more in depth because today we just looked at the highlights.

Tomorrow we go to the Ann Frank house along with taking a tour through the city canals, I am super excited!!! Only two more days til were on a flight back home and I’m already going to miss being engrossed into european culture.

Til tomorrow,

Juliana Eike